More Voices for a Better UC

Undergraduate Council (UC) presidential elections are funded by public UC money. With six tickets in the mix this year—twice last year’s three tickets—our electoral buffet comes with a hefty price tag: $2,400 to be exact. While it might be tempting to find ways to cut that number down—either by increasing the barriers to enter the race or reducing the amount given to each team—we are convinced that the money spent this time of year is well worth it.

All it takes to run for UC President and Vice-President is 150 student signatures. Seven pairs of students successfully accomplished that task to earn the right to have their names on the ballot this year (one ticket, Omar A. Musa ’08 and Daniel Ross-Rieder ’08, have since dropped out of the race). Given that students are free to sign multiple petitions, this is not a particularly high bar. Nor should it be.

The UC Presidential/Vice Presidential race should be open to all who are seriously interested in the position. Aside from it being uncertain whether raising the number of required signatures would deter potential candidates (what’s another couple hours hanging outside a dining hall?)—the end of deterring candidates is itself undesirable.

Multiple tickets are important for the UC elections, injecting unconventional, innovative ideas into what otherwise can too easily deteriorate into stolid, insular debates. The competition allows issues and platforms to come to light that might otherwise be neglected in the dialogue of just a couple mainstream candidates. When the candidate pool is thick, minority viewpoints are given a voice and the most fundamental issues can be brought to light and discussed—for example, the elimination of the UC is the hallmark of Tim R. Hwang ’08 and Alexander S. Wong ’08’s campaign.

We are also glad that these campaigns are well funded. Each ticket needs to be able to get its platform out to the entire student body—a formidable number of people. In this day and age, a small budget would not enable the candidates to accomplish this task. That said, we hope that when candidates decide to pursue a spot on the ballot and the $400 in campaign financing that goes along with it, they do so with sincerity and respect for a process that tries to put everybody on an even field.

We look forward to the battle of a myriad of ideas, candidates, and platforms, all striving to drive the engines of Harvard’s undergraduate democracy.